Investing in real estate meanings putting the money you have today to work for tomorrow. Simply put, real estate is a business that requires a healthy dose of foreknowledge, confidence in your research, and skill in assessing the lucrative real estate markets of today and tomorrow. The revenue you make on your return must be enough to cover things like taxes and the cost of owning real estate investments like paying for utilities, maintenance, and insurance.
Basically, real estate is the real world equivalent to monopoly. But just because the concept is easy to grasp doesn’t mean that the industry is easy to excel in. Below are a few helpful tips for those who are novices in real estate investing.
Location
Deciphering the best cities and bustling towns to start investing in real estate is crucial. If you can develop the foreknowledge it takes to scope out lucrative areas, then you are already off to the best possible start. An old real estate investing adage is to look for the worst house on the best street. Why? Well, a good location provides strong potential for tourism, and “fixer-upper” property allows you to buy low, invest your money into renovating and upgrading, and then sell for a price that reflects your renovations.
The 1% Rule
If you plan on purchasing a property that you’ll rent out to one or more tenants, then you should utilize the 1% rule.
The 1% Rule states that an income producing property must produce 1% of the price it costs you every month. For example, if you buy a property for $150,000, then the monthly rental income should be 150,000 x 1% = $1,500. Simple enough, right? Well, the true skill in this area comes from searching out and capitalizing on properties that are conducive to the 1% rule.
Appreciation
Appreciation is when the land and market around you goes up due to an outside factor in the community. A major new shopping mall, city upgrades, and even the investments you put into your properties that make it more appealing to potential buyers all help produce appreciation. While extremely lucrative, this is one of the riskiest elements of real estate investing, and caution should be taken when playing the tricky game of real estate appreciation.
Real estate investing is a great industry to enter into, and simple as it may be in its description, the application of it is something that requires skill and precision. However, difficult as it can be, implementing these three steps will prove to be extremely useful for you in the long run.
